Waiting
by Adair In Wonderland
Summary: They were waiting for everything to change. Angsty Tsume/Toboe stuff.


Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain.

Warning: Shounen-ai and angst. And plotless pointlessness...

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**Waiting**

They were waiting. In a wet, cramped cave, they were waiting for the others to return.

They had spent the whole day running blindly forward, following Kiba in his resolute devotion to find his beloved Cheza again. They had trudged and stumbled and strained behind their leader, yet always kept pace as he moved toward his unseen, unmistakable destination. Tsume would look back to see Toboe, his breath coming out in short gasps, his face pinched in obvious discomfort as he pushed himself to remain with the pack. That sight always hit the gray wolf straight in the gut.

When night fell and the soft rain that came with it, they began to search for a shelter for the evening. They happened upon the small cave and Kiba, satisfied with that discovery, ran off to find food, Hige quickly following him. Standing in the entrance of the cave, his calloused hand resting against the cold stone, Tsume silently watched his only remaining companion. The runt was standing motionless, his face turned up toward the waxing moon that seemed to be hanging particularly low in the sky this night. The moonlight played off his face, bathing his cherubic features in white. His lips were parted slightly as he gazed upward. The rain continued to patter lightly on the ground and Tsume could almost hear the mournful howl that was threatening to break loose from the smaller wolf in front of him.

"You're going to get soaked if you keep standing there, you know." His voice came out harsh, harsher than he intended, as it always did.

Toboe lowered his head, turning his neck and directing his deep, brown eyes toward the other. "Yeah..." he mumbled softly, before walking past him and into the cave, sitting cross-legged on its rough floor. Tsume followed him and sat on top of a small boulder, putting the furthest possible distance between them in the restricted space.

They sat in silence, waiting for the others to return with whatever would be their dinner for this evening. Outside, the rain began to come down harder until Tsume could no longer hear Toboe's soft breathing over the noise it created. Minutes went by like this, neither acknowledging the other's presence. Just as Tsume was beginning to feel uneasy due to the other's uncharacteristic muteness, he heard a startled gasp from the other side of the cave. Looking up, he saw Toboe with a shocked expression on his face as he shakily wiped a drop of water from his cheek, his eyes wide. Arching an eyebrow, the gray wolf regarded him quizically, before another drop of water fell from a fissure in the cave's ceiling, hitting the smaller wolf directly between the eyes.

"Ah! W-what the..." Toboe looked up in annoyance, finding the small crack and glaring at it.

Tsume felt a small smile creep onto his face, the corners of his mouth moving upward almost imperceptibly. "Figures you'd pick to sit under the one place with a leak," he said playfully, leaning forward on his rock and grinning at his companion.

Toboe's head snapped down, an entirely unthreatening scowl on his face. "W-what's that supposed to mean?!"

"It means exactly what it means, runt."

Jumping to his feet as another drop splashed onto his forehead, he marched across the cave and sat next to the gray wolf's stone chair, his arms crossed and gaze directed at the ground. The earlier silence returned and Tsume's short-lived entertainment at the other's expense vanished.

Breathing in, Tsume let the wet air expand in his lungs for a moment, before releasing it and letting his gaze fall upon the boy sitting near his feet. He was slumped forward slightly, one hand propping his chin up, while the other drew patterns absentmindedly on the cave floor. The nape of his neck was peeking between the collar of his shirt and the curled ends of his auburn hair, the small expanse of skin appearing much too delicate for Tsume's liking. In fact, all of him looked delicate.

"They sure are taking their time," Toboe whispered after a spell, staring forward at the cave wall.

"Yeah, they are." He couldn't be forced into taking the time and energy to formulate a smart-ass reply. Truthfully, he hadn't noticed how long they'd been waiting since he'd been gazing at Toboe, scrutinizing every dip and curve in the sitting boy's form. Frowning, he noticed him shiver, his lithe body tremble every so slightly in the gloom of the cave.

"Are you... cold?" he asked, his voice cracking at the words which seemed to hold more meaning than he had intended, his mind producing various images, various possibilities depending on what the other would answer.

"Yes..." Toboe said, his voice rising in pitch as he drew the word out into a whine, burying his face in his knees.

He continued to sit, frozen at the sight of the small boy shivering at his feet. His right hand curled into a fist, the muscles in it itching to reach out to the other, to hold him and comfort him. Turning away, painfully ripping his gaze from that fragile body as his gut constricted and his breath shakily passed through his lips, he was seized by a sudden feeling of immobility.

And they continued to wait - to wait for their fear to subside and for the outstretched arm that would close the unpleasant distance between them and set their hearts at ease. In a wet, cramped cave, they were waiting for everything to change.

**FIN**

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Thanks for reading... This didn't turn out nearly as angsty as I wanted it to be, but, ah well, it is done. This is my first Wolf's Rain fanfic, so I didn't have such high expectations for it... I'm planning on re-watching the entire series at some point in the near future, seeing as it's been quite a while, so I'll probably write something after that, something a little better than this, hopefully, with a little more substance...

Anyway. Review? Please? I know this wasn't that great, but let me know what you think regardless. I would truly appreciate it. So... Review! Please and thank you. ^_^


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